No Easy Decision, MTV’s special spun off from 16 and Pregnant, followed Markai Durham as she came to the agonizing conclusion to have an abortion. Read the full post.
Dec 29
2010
12:04 AM ET
'No Easy Decision' review: Abortion was the focus of MTV's '16 and Pregnant' special
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Wow, that was great…thanks MTV for bringing such a tough subject out into the open. I work at a woman’s clinic, so i’m around these kinds of situations all the time. And just like Markai said, no one is pro-abortion, not if you have a heart. I’m proud to say i’ve sat with women and helped them discuss ALL their options and given them whatever helpful info i could. Regardless of the whole pro-life, pro-choice debate, i hope we can all agree to support the women in our lives, no matter what.
And totally agree about the lack of education regarding birth control. I don’t know where these women were getting there info from, but geez…if you miss your pill, or forget your shot, yea, you might get pregnant. Whether at home or school, kids of all ages need access to comprehensive sex ed and birth control options….then maybe abortion would narrow to those extreme circumstances (rape,incest,life of the mother).
Lots of these comments have focused on the cost of a baby versus the cost of other things (tattoos, a grill, etc). Yes raising a child for 18 years at least is expensive, but money is not the only thing it costs to be a good parent. As the mom of one I am not sure how I would find the time or the energy or the emotional strength to parent another kid, certainly not as well as I can parent my son alone. And he’s three years old!! Money is a big concern but each woman knows what she can handle and what she can give her kid. Just because you could afford to have 2 or 3 or 10 kids doesn’t mean you could give them all the life and the love you want.
I have a novel idea. How about NOT GETTING PREGNANT IN THE FIRST PLACE. There are multiple birth control options out there. Condoms are great but they have to be put on correctly including using the appropriate size. There are pills, Depo, vaginal rings, female condoms, etc. Here is a factoid for all of you: If you are having unprotected sex and become pregnant you can not say the pregnancy is UNPLANNED. Oh and remember there are STDs out there that cam make you sterile or kill you. Wake up!!
Andrea, birth control fails. All kinds of birth control. IUDs fail. Vasectomies fail, and tubal ligations fail. Expecting everyone to be celibate is unrealistic; we are sexual beings. Married people, people in committed relationships, do protect themselves and still get pregnant unexpectedly.
Put the abortion argument aside for a sec. Another issue here is the supposed failure of birth control. It is a FREAK occurrance for birth control to fail if used properly. It surprises me how many of these teen moms and commenters here say their birth control failed. No, you failed by not using it properly (or at all). I refuse to believe the two percent failure rate is reflected on these shows and on these forums. Please don’t blame birth control … it’s an easy out.
in this situation these kids already have 1 child. birth control should be the #1 thing on their minds when considering sex. i agree with MM 110%. when used correctly, most methods are well over 90% effective. yes accidents happen, but that is usually due to user error.
MM- you are misguided. Birth control fails. The pill is only 96% effective or so…that is 4/100 times it doesn’t work. That isn’t a “freak” incident. My friend (who WAS married at the time) got pregnant with ALL 3 of her girls while on the pill.
Three pregnancies while on the pill?!? Call the medical journals!
The effectiveness of the pill is based on using them correctly. Were you with your friend everyday to see her take it at the same time everyday religiously? Say what you will, but I would put money on the fact that she wasn’t using it correctly.
I think she made a disgusting choice to have an abortion she could have gave it up for adoption or gotten a job to support it .she had sex and she wanted to get rid of her consequence for having sex . She angered me more than caitlyn and tyler who could have easily gotten there lazy butts working to support there child they were so stupid they didn’t even graduate high school on time . wasn’t that one of the reasons they gave up there baby ?
Please stop making such idiotic comments.
If you don’t want too read anymore ” idiotic ” comments then stop reading them but I bet you still are .
Aly – Stop being rude. People are allowed to have opinions that are different from what you believe.
I was trying to remain civil but you are a complete moron. How dare you insult Catelynn and Tyler, the one couple on the show who made a GREAT decision. They chose adoption to a loving well-off family who could give their child everything that they could not. They clearly came from broken homes riddled with domestic violence and drug abuse. Are you really telling me that it was best to keep Carly considering their circumstances? What kind of fantastic job were they going to find without a high school diploma that would be better for Carly then what Brandon and Theresa can give her? You are ridiculous.
Wow your a freak
Yes, my completely logical comment makes me a freak. Please do us all a favor and don’t reproduce or adopt for that matter.
@shaun
do you know the difference between “your” and “you’re?”
No? Then STFU.
insect I am 16 yrs old and planning on having sex until im married I will reproduce when I am ready and I really hope you cant reproduce but only because im sure youll have an abortion I will pray for you because I know you are an extremely coldhearted and bitter person who wishes harm upon others you truly and honestly disgusted me
you “plan on having sex until your married” then would u stop?
You are clueless about both grammar AND Catelynn and Tyler. C and T are probably 2 of the most mature, selfless people you will ever see on MTV. Did you see their homelife – the verbal abuse, etc? They didn’t want to put their own child through that, to expose her to that enviornment. They wanted her to have a stable, peaceful, happy homelife – what C and T didn’t have themselves. That is why they placed Carley up for adoption, not because they were stupid or too lazy to get a job.
Your a freak too
My what is a freak?
you’re/your
their/there
too/to
It’s called English. Look into it!
etm and anon u r not my high school english teachers im not trying to get an A when stating my comment both of you shud kno that I will pray for u because I know both of you are killers or supporters of killers
Please learn the difference between “there” and “their.” Even stupid people who didn’t graduate high school should know that.
kb im a junior in high school and just graduated from the nurse assistant program but can u plz tell me the dif im dying to know haha ur a loser
“Nurse assistant program”? LOL LOL
Remind me never to go to your hospital! Hopefully before you graduate you’ll learn to write. It’s one thing to embarrass yourself on these message boards, but it’s another to do it in real life. Thanks for your prayers, though. I’ll pray for you too.
No one should judge unless your in the situation theres young girls out there who have had abortions and for this teen to show it on national television was brave! and shows the young ladies or women that there not the only ones alone with a big decision like that. God forgives but doesnt forget.
Everyone has a right to judge. You either think abortion is wrong or you think it’s right and that, along with people’s attitudes towards teens and sex is going to inform their judgments.
VanBuren- That is not true. I don’t think abortion is “wrong” or “right”. Ultimately, I think it should be legal and safe. I don’t know that I would choose it, but I understand why some do. However, the issue is not simply good/bad black/white. It’s complex and depends on the individual situation.
If you think it should be safe and legal, you’ve judged it to be alright enough to tolerate.
VanBuren’s right. You’re either for it or against it.
I agree with vanBuren .
I think that more then anything what upset me was the lie. The baby was just cells without fingers or toes yea bs no matter the baby and all babies murdered that way ALL have a heart beat from the moment conceived a tiny heart beat. Maybe if you went through what I did some people would know the truth. My babies heart stopped I gave birth at 10 weeks my baby boy was so tiny but looked like just a tiny boy and had all his male parts. God gave everyone of these woman who had a abortion a gift and they spit in his face and murdered a their own baby. I can’t wait until the day comes and you are face to face with the lord good luck explaining the murder. If you are big enough to lay down and have sex then dont chicken out in the end. I held my son for to hours and kissed him and though I had no choice I live day by day with the pain he died. If God wanted your baby he would have taken your baby on his own not be sucked out and scraped out and forcing his/her heart to stop. This is my opinion but the facts are the facts. Everyone who has a abortion stops a life and heart from beating and that my friend is MURDER.
I am against abortion, but you’re not going to convince anyone you’re right by calling them murderers. I have no idea why more people on the pro-life side don’t get that.
VanBuren it is what it is and yes once you stop a heart from beating don’t you think that would be murder. But hey God will pass judgement just a fact in my book once you choose abortion it is in fact ending a life. Here is a FYI the definition……Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion of a fetus or embryo from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. Now with the definition in plain site explain it’s not murder ending a life is MURDER.
What should we call them? Life terminators? If they don’t want them to be called murderers, they shouldn’t murder babies.
We call rapists what they are. We’d never shy away from calling a man that kills a five year-old a murderer. Why are these women different?
@Kristy and @Pro-Life3 How about you just say you disagree with the decision instead? Its fine to have different stances on a matter, but by being condescending you aren’t helping anything. You have no idea what a woman goes through when choosing abortion.
I’m very sorry for your loss, but don’t shove your pain onto every woman who has had an abortion. At the moment of conception, you are talking about a one-cell zygote. There is no heart and certainly no heartbeat until around the 6th week.
Again BS there is my husband is a nurse I have done study after study and FYI the girl on the show was 6 weeks either way a Killer.
NO THERE ISN’T. The moment of conception does not automatically create a heart and have it start beating. You are being ridiculous. I’m not saying change your opinion. If you think abortion is murder; fine. Don’t sit here and try to tell people more educated than yourself that the second a sperm and egg meet a heart starts beating. It just simply is not true. That is a fact.
You can barely write correctly. I think your baby not making it was a benefit to us all.
Truth, you are evil. That was heartless, and you should be ashamed.
I agree with kristy too .
I’m sorry for your loss, the heart doesn’t start from the moment of conception. The heart starts around week 5, primitive arms and legs are there around by week 6.
To be more clear at 2-3 weeks there is a heart beat that can be detected though hard to see but none the less can see. I was only a few weeks with my daughter and they called it a thud but the doc said none the less a heart beat. This will always be a issue with anyone for or against but on a personal note once you abort that is death as I showed earlier.
You wanted to have a child and that’s wonderful for you. We are all individuals and we need to make our own decisions. My morality is not your morality and my decision to have an abortion when I got pregnant five years ago was absolutely the right decision for me.
So, let’s all do what we think is right for ourselves. Tough luck for everyone else. Hitler did what was the right decision for him.
My goodness @Pro-Lif3. Getting a little melodramatic, aren’t we? People all deserve to have their own opinions, but PLEASE stop with your unintelligent comments.
I have seen a lot of arguments some good some jus very stupid..look I’m neither pro choice or pro life frankly I don’t really care because either way..eeach side has its own issues there is a time and place for everything..but let me say this for the people who say ohh she is wrong she should’ve put it up for adoption for someone else to take care of it…first let us think of the thousands of young children already in child welfare custody. How about we help them first before adding extra lives into the world..there are plenty of good children needing a home right noow they may not be babies but they still need love… oh and the contraception part..umm nothing is onehundred precent proof.iud fails birtch control fails..any one seen the show on discovery channel “I didn’t know I was pregnant” don’t judge and make it seem like if u use contraceptives your automatically protects u yes it decreases your ability to get pregnant dramatically but there is always that one percent..and let’s also take into account people who deal with less thhan a pleasurable experience such as being raped by an unknown stranger or family member..are you trying to tell me that a young woman should carry her rapist baby to full term and then put it up for adoption/or take care of it..?? Don’t you think that will scare her emotionally as well as physically to know she is carrying a child inside of her…that was the outcome of a terrible experience..I mean comon people I know the decision this child made was wrong for you but it was right for her..and people are saying she is lazy…ummm fyi its a struggle to survive in this economy and a paycheck from mcdonalds ain’t going to help raise no kid..and as far as the mans tattoo he could’ve got it from any dude in the “hood” people do tattooing out of their homes for cheap..seriously people let’s open our eyes for a second
Yours truly
Merlyne
Undergrad @ spc.edu
Why is it that the people that claim they are neither Pro-Life or Pro-Choice always end up defending abortion?
Pro-lifers are never embarrassed to say they are for what is right.
The fact that you troll this website posting multiple assinine comments about abortion says a great deal about you. Likening abortion to slavery and Hitler are two of the most vacuous, specious analogies I’ve ever heard. If you feel morally special getting all worked up to a lather about some stranger’s fetus, dynamite. I think it makes you creepy.
abortion is murder. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s not evil.
OKAY MTV, Now it’s only fair you show the flip side. You need to run a show that a young lady chooses adoption. And show all the thoughtful details about this too. Abortion is never the right answer.
Uh.. so far MTV has had 3 episodes of 16 & Pregnant that has focuses on adoption, in addition to at least 2 episodes of True Life that I can think of right now. Do your research before you talk sh*t and make yourself look like an ass.
Anyways, I was struck by how there were no commercial interruptions. I wonder if that was a conscious decision by MTV or if they couldn’t find advertisers brave enough to show spots during this thoughtful special.
I noticed there were no commercials, but I never thought about companies not wanting to advertise during this special. Interesting observation…
There’s always going to be “economic” problems. To use it as an excuse for murder is ignorant. Apply the same logic to kids and families that do make it out of the womb and most of us would be dead because of our parents’ money woes.
I’d be more interested in seeing the pressures the producers placed on this kid so they could exploit her situation for ratings.
Apparently, if a decision to do an act is difficult that excuses the person who commits the action from blame. That’s not how morality works.
It doesn’t matter if she anguishes over the decision to kill her child or she flipped a coin, her baby is still dead and it was the wrong thing to do.
If some guy burned a cross in a Mixed couple’s yard and later claimed he was conflicted over it, I doubt MTV would give him his own 30 minute special applauding his actions.
There seems to be something you do not understand. What YOU believe is not automatically right. It is YOUR opinion and you are entitled to it but you are not the ultimate decider of morality. I honestly want to know why you think that you get to decide what is right or wrong. The only reason I say this is because rather than stating your opinion in a comment once or twice(regarding whether you think this is right or wrong)you have posted about 25 times saying the same thing over and over again as if everyone should repent based on your opinion. I don’t know if you know this but you, nor your church are not the decider of right and wrong and your arrogance is disturbing. Enough with the comparisons of abortion to crimes when we both know they are not the same. We get it. You’re “pro-life”. Now get over yourself.
Agree with the above comment. @Pro-Lif3, I think you’ve made your stance clear. You can leave now.
About the boy’s grill…did anyone think that maybe its a piece of crap and cheap?! It might look real and nice, but I doubt he spent more than $50 on it!
LOL, it definitley did not look nice!
Why do black people not use birth control? I’m sorry if it’s a racist question but I don’t see a ton of white girls with 2 or 3 kids in their early 20′s unless they date black guys. It would be a much easier decision to put on a condom or take a pill than to keep getting pregnant. I’ll just never understand it. Bet she’s pregnant again in less than a year.
Seriously? This is the dumbest comment that I have read so far!
There are just as many white kids having babies young and going through the same thing. If you have watched the show, the majority of the girls they show are white. Don’t make statements like that when you don’t know, all black women don’t have babies young or go using abortion as birth control. That show you are a racist.
“Why do black people not use birth control”
Are you for real?!
I’m from a upper-middle class, white suburban area. And the simple answer to this question is that the white upper-middle class girls are having abortions, whether they say so are not, whether they are pro-life or pro-choice. They have the money to get it done and they aren’t required to get parental approval here. And most of the time, the parents approve anyway, because they know that that pregnant girl will never be able to provide a good life for their child if they don’t go to college and instead make minimum wage and McDonald’s their whole life.
True- I don’t know if it is much a race thing as it is a upper class/poverty type things. Girls in upper-middle class suburban areas “take care of it,” (hide it- abort it) without all the drama. It’s probably the great suburban secret. And haven’t you all heard of Plan-B or they morning after pill? Girls can get it over the counter without a prescription-that way many girls from wealthier families can pick it up and take care of the lack of birth control up to 3 days after the fact before even getting pregnant.
Gs the reason you are saying this its because you’re racist and mean. I know some black people use birthcontrol for example my bestfriend.
You aren’t sorry if it’s a racist question, because if you really cared about being racist, you wouldn’t have made such a ridiculous claim in the first place.
I grew up in an almost entirely white suburb. I knew plenty of white girls in high school who got knocked up by their white boyfriends. One girl I graduated with had 2 kids by the age of 18, and guess what, Mom and Dad were both white.
Stop being ignorant and asinine.
i think that abortion is the mothers choice. and if she chooses that or not is her decision to make. imean personally,iwouldnt do it myself but if its best for the mother at the time, then so be it. people dont need to be hateing on her for making that decision herself. imean its her life and her baby,right?
Just because you are a person’s child does not mean they can do what they want with you. My dad can’t (morally) put a bullet in my head because he’s my father.
A point that has not been made yet to counter your ridiculous comparisons: Consider the fact that a fetus cannot survive outside of the womb until it reaches a certain point of development. Therefore it is officially a part of the mother’s body until it could survive (at least with the assistance of others) when removed. As a part of a woman’s body, she should have the right to decide what she would like to do with it.
but clearly your parents are the case FOR abortion. they were unfit, and must have dropped you on your head, or something…
new born babies cant survive on their own either does that mean we have a few extra years after birth to terminate a baby because it cant fend on its own?